You know all those non-player characters in your favorite video game? Have you ever wondered what would happen if they suddenly developed free will? No? Well, it doesn’t matter because you’re going to find out anyway once you watch Free Guy.

Directed by Shawn Levy from a screenplay by Matt Lieberman and Zak Penn, Free Guy is the story of an NPC taking control of his life. And in the process, he might just end up bringing down the whole game world he’s living in. The sci-fi action comedy stars Ryan Reynolds, Jodie Comer, Lil Rel Howery, Utkarsh Ambudkar, Joe Keery, and Taika Waititi.

Welcome to the open-world video game Free City (sounds like Sim City but plays like GTA). Guy (Reynolds) is an NPC working as a bank teller. When he becomes self-aware because of a program inserted into Free City by the publisher Antoine (Waititi), Guy decides to make himself the hero. It’s a race against time with the developers rushing to shut down the game and Guy trying to save it. And as you might expect, all hell breaks loose.

Editor's Note: This article was most recently updated on February 23 to include the latest details on Free Guy's Disney+ release date details.

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Free Guy features cameo appearances from a whole bunch of gamers and streamers including Jacksepticeye, Ninja, Pokimane, DanTDM, and LazarBeam. The film also features a posthumous appearance by the late Alex Trebek. Hugh Jackman, Dwayne Johnson, Tina Fey, and John Krasinski are also set to have cameos in the movie as well.

Based on everything we’ve seen about the movie so far, Free Guy looks like a wild and funny ride. And we’re here to answer every question you have about where to watch the film, when it will be available online, and whether it will arrive in theaters.

Is Free Guy Streaming Online?

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Yes, as of February 23rd, Free Guy is now available to watch on Disney+. Free Guy's release date on Disney+ was announced in December, after Disney CEO Bob Chapek confirmed in May 2021 that both Free Guy and Marvel Studios’ martial-arts action movie Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings would receive exclusive theatrical releases at first.

Is Free Guy Available with Disney+ Premier Access?

No. Well, probably not. We still don't have confirmation on whether Free Guy will be on Disney+ or Hulu once it has its streaming release so there has been no official word on this.

The Disney+ Premier Access feature is meant to give viewers the opportunity to stream movies while they're still in theaters for an additional fee of $29.99 on top of their existing Disney+ subscription. This was the case with some of Disney's biggest releases of 2021 including Black Widow and Cruella. But since Free Guy will only be in theaters when it releases, it's unlikely that you'll need Premier Access to watch it once it arrives on streaming.

When Will Free Guy Arrive on Digital or VOD?

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Image via 20th Century Studios

20th Century has made announced that Free Guy will be available on Digital, via all major digital platforms, on September 28, 2021, followed by the 4K Ultra HD, Blu-ray, and DVD debut on October 12.

The home video release comes with a variety of never-before-seen bonus material including two deleted scenes, an extended scene, bloopers and making-of featurettes. Here are the details:

  • Deleted and Extended Scenes
  • Guy and Buddy Hit the Beach
  • Hot Nuts Gets Blown
  • NPC Rally (Extended)
  • Gag Reel
  • Dude vs. Guy – Join Ryan Reynolds, director Shawn Levy and the creative and stunt teams as they reveal the innovative process of creating “Free Guy”’s ultimate showdown between Guy and the wildly amped-up, spray-tanned, frosted-tipped version of himself known as Dude.
  • Creating Molotovgirl – Jodie Comer transforms from a brilliant programmer to her fierce avatar in “Free Guy.” Watch as the award-winning action star and filmmakers deconstruct the conceptualization, evolution and execution of bringing Molotovgirl to life.
  • It’s Taika’s World – “Free Guy”’s outrageous action may exist in a virtual world, but Taika Waititi makes the real world just as crazy with the over-the-top Antwan. See him at work in this entertaining showcase of a genuinely talented and hilarious performer.
  • Welcome to Free City – Delve into the reality-skewing universe that is Free City, as revealed by director Shawn Levy, the cast, and its inventive creative teams. Find out how they transformed a real metropolis into a virtual playground where anything is possible.

*bonus features vary by product and retailer

Is Free Guy in Movie Theaters?

Free Guy is set to arrive in theaters released on August 13, 2021, in the United States. This is over a year from the movie’s original release date so the fans will be happy to finally see it on the big screen.

The film was initially scheduled to premiere on July 3, 2020. But like most of the movies of 2020, Free Guy too had its release delayed due to the COVID-19 pandemic. It was first pushed to December 11, 2020, and then dropped from the studio’s release schedule altogether. It was then rescheduled to May 21, 2021.

In March 2021, Ryan Reynolds announced that Free Guy’s premiere had been moved again, this time to the current release date. Hopefully, this one sticks.

Movie fans have spent a long time away from theaters but now that the number of coronavirus cases is dropping across the country and the vaccine rollout is being expanded, they can finally head back to their local theaters. But that said, do take every precaution and check your state's most recent safety guidelines before you book your tickets for the show.

Best Ryan Reynolds Comedies You Can Watch Right Now

Ryan Reynolds and Elizabeth Banks in Definitely, Maybe
Image via Universal Pictures

If you’d like to see more of Ryan Reynolds’ greatest hits, there are quite a few that you can stream or rent online. They range from action to romance to… well, whatever you want to call Deadpool. Here are five of the best Ryan Reynolds movies you can watch right now:

6 Underground: This heart-thumping Netflix Original action movie directed by Michael Bay features Reynolds as a reclusive billionaire who fakes his death and recruits an international team to take down a brutal tyrant. It’s got lots of cool tech, all the explosions you could want, and a car chase that seems to go on forever. In short, it’s a Michael Bay movie. Have fun!

Watch it on Netflix

Pokémon Detective Pikachu: Pikachus are the cute, friendly mascots of the Pokémon world. This particular Pikachu, however, is a world-class detective with a deerstalker hat and plenty of attitude. Ryan Reynolds voices Detective Pikachu while Justice Smith plays Tim Goodman, an insurance agent whose father used to be Pikachu’s partner. The unlikely duo tries to find out what happened to Tim’s father while also uncovering a secret conspiracy.

Rent it on Amazon

Definitely, Maybe: This adorable 2008 rom-com features Reynolds as Will Hayes, a 30-something father in the middle of a divorce. When his ten-year-old daughter asks him to tell her how he met her mother, Will proceeds to go over the story of his life, with all its humor and heartbreak. It’s one of Reynolds’ best works in the genre, right up there with the next one on this list.

Rent it on Amazon

The Proposal: Ryan Reynolds and Sandra Bullock. For most people, that’s enough of a reason to watch this beloved romantic comedy. Bullock plays a thoroughly unpleasant woman who gets her harrowed assistant (Reynolds) to pretend as if they are engaged so she can avoid getting deported. Hilarity ensues as she gets to know his family and realizes that there’s more to this man than meets the eye. It’s one of the most popular rom-coms of all time and one of Reynolds’ best works.

Rent it on Amazon

Deadpool: Seriously, what is this movie? Is it a superhero film? A love story? An action-adventure featuring a villain named after a cleaning product? Yes, it’s all of that and more. Deadpool and its sequel Deadpool 2 are easily the most successful movies of Ryan Reynolds’ career. The actor embodies the role of the franchise’s titular (hehe, titular) anti-hero so well that sometimes it feels like Reynolds just put on a bodysuit and improvised the whole thing. It’s raunchy, heartfelt, exciting, and absolutely hilarious. And the fact that it has a genuinely moving romance at its heart just makes it absolutely perfect.

Rent it on Amazon